Act of War: Direct Action

It's rather nifty.

The RTS genre has been trying to shake off its old skin for a long time now. But most of that cover of it cling with tenacity. It's just hard to make huge leaps forward when gamers are so used to seeing things a certain way. But sometimes you get a game that takes the basic idea and simply refines it a little... and it's still a bunch of fun. I'm always looking for something new. I like new things. I wish there were more of them. But when it comes down to it, Act of War: Direct Action from Eugen Systems is an entertaining gaming experience, even without extreme innovation. There really isn't a whole lot here that we haven't seen before, but mission design is fun and art (especially in cities) is fantastic. This here is a very good package.

Anybody that took part in EA LA's last entry into the Command & Conquer series, Generals, will note plenty of similarities with Eugen Systems' Act of War. Some of the units look the same, each faction has a "super weapon" that can be brought to bear (though they aren't quite as spectacularly over the top as the ones in Generals), terrorists have underground troop movement, the three factions have varying degrees of advanced technologies, and so on.

I can't help but feel this sense of repetition, but considering the fun I've had, does it really matter? Missions are designed well, pacing is good, there is a great selection of units available (some with multiple and optional uses), and combat is exciting enough, thanks to great visuals and sound, that I've yet to be bored.

Act of War is definitely a traditional real-time strategy game, but there are a couple of things that set it apart. The first is the way resources are handled. The first line of resources come from the placement of an oil derrick, which was the most straight forward and recognizable. Once you get the derrick up and a refinery built next to it, they simply need protection and the money will flow in without even thinking about it.

The second type, more suitable for the city settings found all throughout the game, has players generating cash by taking over bank buildings by garrisoning troupes inside. It's basically siphoning cash from the bank... which is pretty messed up for anyone that has money in the bank, but so be it. The challenge here is taking the building and keeping it safe. Even though units have to be garrisoned inside, they're still pretty vulnerable. Enemy infantry can enter the building, fight them on the inside, and take over (if there are enough invaders). At the same time, vehicles can come from outside and kick the crap out of the building itself in order to kill the men inside. But it's much harder that way and becomes quickly apparent that there's a serious need for infantry here where most games fail to create that need to have them around later in a match. These city battles are pretty awesome because of their close combat nature (though there are actually slight problems which I'll get into in a second) so it's nice that the developers helped focus the action there.

Lastly, money can be earned through capturing prisoners. Out on the battlefield, infantry or vehicle pilots will often be wounded or left without a ride. At that point, they may be captured as prisoners of war. A money reward is immediate for those captured, but a gradual reward for holding those prisoners in the faction holding cell (hospital, prison, or field intelligence center) will be gained every little while. The more prisoners, the higher the cash flow. It pays to spare lives in Act of War. Of course, it also means that extracting wounded soldiers and vehicle pilots is much more important. You don't want to leave money just lying around for your opponents to gather. I can tell you it's friggin' maddening to have your opponent capture some of your men in multiplayer, knowing that they not only removed some of your troops but also made money off of it.